Final Set-up before MOT

Okay so we're coming up the the end of the summer (arghh) but I've had a very successful few weeks, following on from the last post I have received the new V5 from the DVLA and to my surprise they have allowed my engine change without asking for more evidence, which is excellent news. Since the welding has been done the petrol tank has been out of the car so we can prepare the offside rear wheel arch for MOT standard and I have now fitted it back into the boot (which means I can play with the engine again) and have fitted the 13/60 (second hand) stainless steel exhaust pipe, which sounds throaty yet appears to have no visible emissions. The following is a video taken shortly after fitting the petrol tank and exhaust, she's sounding healthier than ever;



Months ago whilst Rimmer Bros were hosting a sale, I bought 2 new springs and shocks, because mine were no longer working well (one of the shocks was no longer working and the springs were distorted) and today, despite the heavy rain, I set upon replacing the drivers-side front suspension, which was a job i was worrying about because I have no history with suspension removal/replacement, It was a tedious job because I decided it would be good to slap some paint around the wishbones etc. but more or less an easy and fun job.

Lets hope my last few weeks prove to be as valuable as this one!

A lot has happened since February

After that dreadful winter day that brought misery to my life once again (the third break down) I have spend 6 months patching, splicing and dropping things into the herald, most importantly of course is the new engine, I say new, it's actually old but it works which is more than could be said about the old one! the new engine however is a 13/60 (I have no history of this engine I just know it looks and feels as if it's done less mileage than the old one). I'm still waiting on the DVLA to tell me whether I have enough evidence to change the V5 (it's been weeks...)

Despite taking time sourcing the engine, (from eBay may I add) it was relatively pain free dropping it into the car, I spend a lot of time working on the engine bay before the engine arrived, an opportunity one rarely gets.

I recently got some welding done on the rear outriggers and the boot, thanks to a good family friend called Tim who kindly spent the entire day on the job, and it was almost a completely uneventful day until he lowered the jack on the rear of the car and was greeted by a rolling car and ended up half way under the car (avoiding being crushed by a whisker). The rear drivers side outrigger was rusted through and now has a completely new outrigger welded on. The offside rear outrigger has been patched because it was not in such bad condition.



Herald on ramps before outrigger weld.



Weld in boot.

Today I have been attempting to mend a large hole in the passenger foot-well (from a crash it's had previously, and on re-assembling the panels one was damaged beyond repair, it was only made of cardboard and over 40 years has perished (I don't blame it), and so my father and I put together a wood replacement, spray painted black, with a hinge (it was a devil to get in but my god it looks neat;



Unfortunately due to the length of time I've been working on the car I've had to declare her SORN because the tax and MOT ran out, and I don't have an MOT certificate at the moment so I can't renew the tax! So once I've heard back from the DVLA (assuming it's good news) I can get some insurance get an MOT (and pray for a pass) and then get taxed. So much to do and I've pretty much lost the summer. I move down to Canterbury in the next month and leave the car with my parents (sorry). I will try and keep you up to date with the new engine and the MOT issues, whenever it may be.

I regret to inform..

That she's broken again, I had to call the pick up again a few weeks ago, luckily for me it was a nice sunny day (if a bit cold) I got some good shots of the herald though;



And here she is on the back of the faithful lorry; (though not nearly as nerve-racking as the first time on the M20)



I am in the process of sourcing a new engine, and have taken out the box and various other components, the engine is to be removed on Wednesday and then I can start doing some serious work on the front of the chassis before I put the new engine in, lots of work to be done!

She is fixed

After all of this time wondering and asking questions, I decided to just get on with the work and get my hands dirty. This was a bad time to start work because there was 8 inches of snow outside, and every movement was painful and tiring. However after a good few weekends of cold slow progress, I managed to change the main bearings and put in the new +10 thrust washers.

Originally inside the slave cylinder I had found a socket from a socket set, to give extra reach for the clutch arm. With the new sized thrust washers this is no longer needed, and therefore as far as I'm aware I have managed to sort all of my problems, however she still has a compression problem, only running on 3 cylinders (which could explain the top speed of 60)

I'll be taking her out for a spin on Monday when my insurance starts, hopefully it'll be a nice sunny day!

Sump Removal

After my efforts with a new clutch and new gearbox, it was made clear that this wasn't the problem at all, however, during the removal of the gearbox and clutch we stumbled across a potential problem, there was alot of play in the crank shaft, allowing the fly wheel to move to and fro with ease, and after abit of research it became clear that this could have been the cause of my motorway problems. A month or so later i removed the sump, for no other reason than to clean it and put in new oil, only to reveal two thrust washers laying at the bottom (This seems to be a common problem with Heralds, if anybody else reading this has had this problem before i'd love some hints and tips as to whether the problem could lay in the size of the thrust washers or perhaps the wear on the main bearings?).

Since this discovery i have bought a new set of main bearings, (6 halves) and am ready to put them in. (i'm also not completely sure as to whether main bearings can be taken out and new ones installed without doing an engine rebuild?)

New Pump

A few days ago i tested the Herald, I took my father out for a drive, i think he had regrets about coming... after about half a mile down the road I felt the car struggling, and it appeared to be the same problem we originally had on the motorway, which was unexpected, as we thought we'd solved the problem with the new clutch and gearbox, however after some thought we now think that it could be one of two problems, a petrol problem, or an oil problem.

Today i fitted the new petrol pump (the original one was leaking somewhat) which was bought off ebay and was unused original stock. Whether this has helped at all i'm not sure, and i don't feel like testing it so soon after the last test (it was stressful)

New gearbox, new clutch... success?

Although i have yet to take the Herald out for a proper test drive, everything seems to be in order, after removing the old gearbox and putting the new one in, then removing the new gearbox and replacing the old clutch with a new clutch, then putting the new gearbox back in, only to find that the clutch is not properly alligned, and so removing the gearbox once again, re-positioning the clutch (by this time we were ready for a drink) and putting in the new gearbox for one final time.

The first test drive on the forecourt yesterday resulted in alot of crunching when selecting reverse gear, and after a some help from my uncle, an ex mechanic, who stated the obvious to us amateurs, we decided that the slave cylinder needed a slight extension. This morning i tested the Herald after accounting for the lack of reach and she ran like a dream... perhaps later i'll take her for a proper spin!

Cold Winters Day

The gearbox seems to be in good condition, however the Herald is still not moving! We now have a suspected clutch problem to exacerbate things even more.

I haven't done a huge amount of work in the past few weeks, so today i decided to put in some work to avoid losing heart, so i continued with my efforts to fiberglass the rust hole in the boot, i'm starting to get the hang of fiberglassing, although i didn't much enjoy my arm going hard when i established that i had dribbled the mixture down my forearm. I also painted the off-side front wheel today, which leaves only one wheek left to be rubbed down and painted. She's looking smarter than ever, although we'll be removing that old gearbox again in the next few weeks to install the new clutch i've just ordered. Lets hope the postal strikes don't affect the time it takes to arrive!

A day devoted to the gearbox.

Today we made an early start on a job which was unknown territory to us, removing the broken gearbox and installing the new (it's old but you know what i mean) gearbox that we previously bought on ebay. Despite taking 8 and a half hours, we only had a few major problems, which we managed to sort (eventually). One of the problems was parting the universal joint from the gearbox, which appeared to be completely wedged, and due to our lack of knowledge of removing gearbox's (this was our first time) we struggled, though eventually managed to part the two by jacking up the engine for support and simultaniously jacking the gearbox away from the propshaft (a very bodged but respectable method).

This problem came back with avengance on the refit of the new gearbox, and after finally giving up on attaching the gearbox to the universal joint we decided to tackle the easy jobs like tightening the nuts and bolts on the bell housing. Much to our surprise the earlier problem seemed to resolve itself with little effort after attaching the bell housing. Long day, but hopefully worth it, not looking forward to the test drive in the next few days...

A brief worry on the rear wheel front.

After leaving the Herald up on jacks all night i decided to put the wheel, which was now dry, back on. I lowered the jack and to our fear she didn't return to her normal position, so we spent half an hour worrying about what could have gone wrong, perhaps the shocks? We then decided to move her across the garage slightly, to aid our future endeavours with the new gearbox, and after a few minutes trying to start her in the cold (much harder than you would think, especially with a worn starter motor) she got moving, and much to our relief, the wheels sorted themselves.

A drip of paint on the wheels

For the past two days i've been giving the wheels a good rub down and paint, i've now finished 3 of 5 wheels, and the herald is starting to look very smart indeed, though taking off each wheel gives us a daunting reminder of how much work there really is to be done, some nice patches of rust are appearing from day to day. Atleast i won't be stuck for jobs!

We did however reveal a missing wheel nut on the front nearside wheel, we were lucky to get back from Nottingham to Kent without a wheel coming off. New wheel nut ordered, and the missing '1200' badge on the boot, though this will be a christmas present to me, and therefore won't make an appearance in photos for a few months yet.

Update on the gearbox; it has been bought on ebay for a very respectable £41.00 (I hope this price doesn't reflect it's condition) and should be delivered and ready to install within the next week or so.

paint in the boot

I woke up bright and early this morning to apply the first coat of Hammerite paint to the rust treated area. I did the second layer 8 hours later when I returned from university. We then tried to conquer the door problem, no success, likely to be the sagging hinge.

Started work

After a brief trip into town to collect some rust treatment and various other much needed products, we set to work on the rust inside the boot, removing loose rust with a wire brush, hoovering and then applying the rust to metal converter. The unsupported exaust pipe has now been strapped up (Whether or not the original weld had broken on the drive home, we are unsure). New bolts have been fitted into the dashboard and the glovebox (to replace missing bolts), and lastly the off-side window has a new rivet to replace the broken rivet, to allow it to open and shut more efficiently.

A daunting first drive.

After buying the Triumph Herald 1200 on ebay, a fortnight ago on the 26th of September, it was time to drive up to nottingham (a good three-hour drive) to collect her (10th October). Despite a well needed loo break the journey was relatively uneventful. We introduced ourselves to the previous owner and went through the paperwork, by this time i was anxious (and quite rightly, there were alot of firsts to happen today; first time driving a car in 9 months, first time without an instructor, first time in nottingham, first time in the Herald, first time on a motorway and lastly first time calling the recovery service!!) but ready to get going.

After an embarrassing and shakey start, which was made clear by the fear on my dad's face, who by this time had declared his need for a change of clothing, we had made progress and had made it to my auntys house on the outskirts of nottingham. We then proceeded to have lunch, or rather for my father to get drunk and ease the pain of the further 3 hours of the journey home!

On leaving the lunch venue, we cruised in the sunshine along some lovely country lanes, by this time i was much more in control of the Herald, after getting used to it the hour before. Two miles later we were greeted by an unwelcome smell of burning rubber. This smell soon disappeared (whether this was a good thing or not we were unsure, but the main thing was that the engine was still running and we were still moving!

For the next 3 hours or so the journey was uneventful, much to our surprise, but then we hit the M20 and everything went down hill (however the stretch of M20 was infact up hill! Perhaps the cause of our problem?), the speedometer drastically decreased from 60 to 50 to 40 within a matter of seconds, I think by this time we were sure that we would make it home, afterall we can't have been far off 20 miles from home. After a nice 20 minute break on the embankment of the M20 and a suspected gearbox failure, our taxi home had arrived (or rather a herald-sized taxi with a winch and a very hospitable cab!) The driver himself was a keen classic car owner and was very sympathetic towards us, which made the last 20 miles home a warm and communicative half-hour (if abit ungratified!)

After a very enjoyable yet disappointing day, We were all pleased to be home (including the herald) and a beer and pizza was the only way to celebrate surviving such an adventure. The herald now resting in the garage is awaiting a new gearbox and some TLC.